Question 1

A _____ plan outlines an organization's long-term direction and the actions necessary to achieve planned results.

Accepted Answer

A strategic plan outlines the long-term direction and goals of an organization, along with the action steps needed to achieve those goals. Other types of plans such as tactical, programmed, operational, and departmental plans typically focus on shorter time frames or specific areas within the organization.

Question 2

A securities trading company regularly compares its performance with that of high-performing organizations in the industry.This process is described as:

Accepted Answer

The process described is benchmarking, which involves comparing the company's performance to that of high-performing organizations in the same industry in order to identify areas for improvement and best practices to emulate.

Question 3

What does a mission statement represent?

Accepted Answer

A mission statement represents the reason an organization exists – its purpose and goals. It sets the direction for the organization and serves as a guide for decision-making.

Question 4

_____ essentially represent change levers that managers can push and pull to influence various aspects of an organization.

Accepted Answer

Target elements of change represent the specific areas that managers can focus on in order to bring about change in an organization. These can include technology, processes, structure, culture, employees, and more. By identifying and targeting these elements, managers can push and pull the levers necessary to bring about the desired changes. Strategic plans and inputs may provide guidance and resources for change, while unfreezing and refreezing activities are specific change management techniques used to facilitate and sustain change, but they are not the actual levers that managers utilize to influence an organization.

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of a target element of change?

Accepted Answer

Social factors are considered a target element of change as they involve altering the social dynamics, culture, or interpersonal relationships within an organization to facilitate change.

Question 6

The employees of CeMetals,Inc.,adhere to the modified behaviors that management expects them to inculcate into their routine professional interactions.To frequently reinforce the desired changes,monetary benefits are awarded to those displaying exemplary behavior and negative reinforcement to those failing to abide by the changes.What stage of Lewin's change model does this indicate?

Accepted Answer

The provided description indicates the stage of 'Refreezing' in Lewin's change model, which involves reinforcing and establishing the new desired behaviors as routine practice. Monetary incentives and negative consequences for employees are examples of refreezing techniques to ensure that the change becomes permanent.

Question 7

Change efforts are very complicated and difficult to manage when they are targeted at the _____ level.

Accepted Answer

Change efforts are most complicated and difficult to manage at the organizational level because they involve altering the entire structure, culture, and processes of the organization, which affects all employees and systems.

Question 8

Which of the following models of change is based on the notion that any change,no matter how large or small,produces a cascading effect throughout an organization?

Accepted Answer

A systems model of change considers the interconnectedness of various parts of an organization and how any change, no matter how small, can have a ripple effect throughout the system. This model emphasizes the importance of understanding how different components of an organization are interconnected and how changes in one area can impact other areas.

Question 9

The four main components of a systems model are:

Accepted Answer

The answer of The four main components of a systems...

Question 10

On comparing its performance with that of other companies with superior track records,the managers at Vega Incorporated learn that bad after-sales services have caused them to lose their competitive edge.This information is ultimately relayed to the sales department.Going by Lewin's change model,Vega Incorporated is using the _____ technique of unfreezing.

Accepted Answer

Benchmarking involves comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and best practices from other companies, which is what Vega Incorporated is doing by comparing its performance with companies with superior track records.

Question 11

As a newly joined divisional head in the organization,Dan is interested in analyzing his company's long-term direction and actions necessary to achieve planned results.What specific document must he look for?

Accepted Answer

A strategic plan outlines an organization's long-term direction and sets forth specific actions necessary to achieve planned results. As a newly joined divisional head interested in analyzing the company's long-term direction, Dan should look for the strategic plan document.

Question 12

How do managers begin the unfreezing process?

Accepted Answer

Managers begin the unfreezing process by challenging the current state and encouraging employees to let go of old behaviors, which may involve being unsupportive of the current behavior to facilitate change.

Question 13

The employees of Juniper Industries are presented with information and facts about the workforce's reduced efficiency that is supposedly the cause of dipping sales and customer dissatisfaction.This encourages them to work harder and improve their levels of effectiveness.What stage of Lewin's change model is being discussed here?

Accepted Answer

The stage being discussed is "unfreezing" which involves creating awareness about the need for change and encouraging employees to be receptive to it by breaking down existing attitudes and habits. In this case, the employees are being presented with information about the need for improved efficiency.

Question 14

According to the systems model of change,target elements of change include all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

The systems model of change identifies four elements: inputs, target elements of change, outputs, and feedback mechanisms. The target elements of change include methods, organizational arrangements, people, and social factors. Outputs are not included as a target element of change.

Question 15

Change is stabilized during _____ by helping employees integrate the changed attitude into their normal way of doing things.

Accepted Answer

Refreezing is the stage in the change process where the change is stabilized by helping employees integrate the new attitude or behavior into their normal way of doing things. Unfreezing is the first stage, where the status quo is challenged, and intervention is a general term that can refer to any action taken during the change process. Benchmarking is a technique for comparing an organization's performance to industry best practices, and processing is a vague term that does not specifically relate to the change process.

Question 16

An organization's vision describes:

Accepted Answer

An organization's vision describes what it wants to become in the future. It is a statement of the desired future state or goal that the organization aspires to achieve.

Question 17

The management of Delta Technologies has a meeting with its board of directors wherein it is decided that the company will expand its customer service to China in conformity with its determined plans and actions.This is an example of a(n):

Accepted Answer

This decision to expand customer service to China aligns with Delta Technologies' long-term vision and goals, making it a strategic plan.

Question 18

In a systems model of change,mission,vision,internal strengths and weaknesses are classified as:

Accepted Answer

In a systems model of change, mission, vision, internal strengths, and weaknesses are considered inputs as they are foundational elements that influence the change process.

Question 19

John Kotter,an expert in leadership and change management,believes that organizational changes typically fail because:

Accepted Answer

According to John Kotter, senior management makes a host of implementation errors which are the reason for the failure of organizational changes. This can include inadequate communication and engagement with employees, not providing the necessary resources for change implementation, and not aligning the changes with the overall vision and strategy of the organization.

Question 20

The _____ stage in Lewin's change model entails providing employees with new types of information,processes,behavioral models,and new ways of getting the job done.

Accepted Answer

The stage in Lewin's change model that involves providing employees with new types of information, processes, behavioral models, and new ways of getting the job done is the "change" stage. This stage is focused on implementing new behaviors and processes to support the desired change. The other stages in Lewin's model are unfreeze (preparing for change), evaluation (determining the effectiveness of the change), and refreeze (stabilizing the change).

Quiz 16: Managing Change and Organizational Learning